solar energy

CPLC Supports Principles of Equitable Policy Design for Energy Storage

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Solar panels and building.
Energy storage is set to grow dramatically, and community groups and policy experts believe we should be prepared. [Sabine van Erp/Pixabay photo]
This month, Clean Power Lake County joined 25 other environmental justice and grassroots organizations, policy experts, solar and storage industry representatives, labor, consumer advocates, faith groups, and renewable energy advocates in releasing the Principles of Equitable Policy Design for Energy Storage.

The principles are the outcome of a meeting organized by the Union of Concerned Scientists to discuss policies to spur deployment of energy storage and how to design policies that put communities first.

“When combined with investments in clean energy, storage has the potential to hasten retirements of coal and even natural gas plants across the country. This is critical not only for our climate and decarbonization goals, but also to improve air quality in frontline communities,” according to a May 8, 2019, blog post by Jeremy Richardson, senior energy analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Energy storage is a technology that is poised to expand dramatically in coming years. It has a wide range of potential applications.

Meeting participants focused on the types of uses for storage that would benefit disadvantaged communities. These uses include:

  • Replacing peaking power plants and fossil-fired plants
  • Keeping the lights on and bouncing back more quickly from power outages
  • Accelerating the development and integration of renewable energy on the grid

These principles can help state policymakers and advocates focus on solutions that ensure that the growth of energy storage improves all communities.

“Getting energy storage correct and equitable is critical as we move to more renewable energy, said Celeste Flores, co-chair of Clean Power Lake County and Lake County Outreach Director for Faith in Place. She was one of several stakeholders who participated in the December 2018 meeting.

Leading the Charge for Clean Jobs in Illinois

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The Clean Power Lake County delegation is ready to lead the charge for passage of the Illinois Clean Jobs Bill . [Photo by Alex Morgan/Sierra Club.]
Members of the Clean Power Lake County Campaign visit the State Capitol in Springfield to help lead the charge for passage of the Illinois Clean Jobs Bill. [Photo by Alex Morgan/Sierra Club.]

While most of you have been dodging April showers, filing your tax returns and mustering hope that this year will be the year for the Chicago Cubs, Clean Power Lake County’s “climate avengers” have been helping lead the charge to pass the bipartisan Illinois Clean Jobs Bill in Springfield.

The Illinois Clean Jobs Bill (HB 2607/SB1485) will cut energy use through efficiency, increase use of renewable wind and solar energy, and create an estimated 32,000 jobs annually. The bill is supported by more than 41 co-sponsors in the Illinois House, 21 co-sponsors in the Illinois Senate and a coalition of more than 70 businesses and 30 organizations.

On April 22—Earth Day—nearly two dozen Clean Power Lake County coalition representatives rallied alongside more than 500 other Illinoisans at the state capitol to support the Illinois Clean Jobs Bill, clean energy and climate action. (Check our our Facebook photo album and watch WAND-TV video coverage of the rally.)

Illinois State Representative Rita Mayfield speaks with Waukegan resident Maryfran Troha at Clean Power Lake County's Clean Jobs Forum in Waukegan on April 8. [Photo by Karen Long MacLeod/Clean Power Lake County Campaign.]
Illinois State Representative Rita Mayfield speaks with Waukegan resident Maryfran Troha at Clean Power Lake County’s Clean Jobs Forum in Waukegan on April 8. [Photo by Karen Long MacLeod/Clean Power Lake County Campaign.]
A constituent speaks with Illinois State Senator Julie Morrison at Clean Power Lake County's Clean Jobs Forum in Waukegan, held April 8. [Photo by Karen Long MacLeod/Clean Power Lake County Campaign.]
A constituent speaks with Illinois State Senator Julie Morrison at Clean Power Lake County’s Clean Jobs Forum in Waukegan, held April 8. [Photo by Karen Long MacLeod/Clean Power Lake County Campaign.]
 

On April 8, two of the bill’s co-sponsors, State Representative Rita Mayfield and State Senator Julie Morrison, received rounds of applause during a Waukegan forum when they said the measure would lower consumers’ utility bills, bring clean energy investment to more communities, strengthen local tax bases, create thousands of family-sustaining jobs and reduce dangerous pollution from coal-fired power plants. The forum was sponsored by the Clean Power Lake County Campaign.

The Clean Jobs Bill improves upon the 2007 Illinois Renewable Portfolio Standard in several ways:

  • Increases the share of power coming from renewable sources to 35% by 2030
  • Raises the state’s energy efficiency standard with 20% energy reductions by 2025
  • Proposes a market-based strategy to reduce carbon emissions from power plants, which is required by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean Power Plan

The bill also contains several provisions to help disadvantaged communities, such as bringing more solar installations and workforce development to low-income communities, and building solar arrays on contaminated lands often located in disadvantaged communities.

Equally important for residents of a cash-strapped state, “this legislation doesn’t cost the taxpayer anything,” Mayfield said during the Waukegan forum.

Ready to help? Please sign the official Illinois Sierra Club petition to ask your representatives to support the Illinois Clean Jobs Bill.